Four men emerged as the finalists to become the next school superintendent of Boston, as a yearlong search for a new leader enters perhaps its last phase. The candidates are racially diverse and come from school systems many miles away: two from California, one from Nevada, and another from Virginia.

Los Angeles Unified School Supt. Ramon C. Cortines says the district cannot afford to provide a computer to every student, signaling a major reversal for his predecessor's ill-fated $1.3-billion effort to distribute iPads to all students, teachers and school administrators.

Clay target shooting is trending in Minnesota schools. The Minnesota State High School Clay Target League, which allows competitors in grades 6-12, fielded 13 teams in 2010. In 2014, the number was 185.

Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order to suspend the Florida Standards Assessment test in English language arts for 11th graders and seek a permanent legislative fix this session. He cited concern about too much testing in Florida’s classrooms.

A bill that would require parents of Kansas public school students to sign a form before their children can take sex education has been advanced by the House Education Committee and will go to the House floor.

While the new governor asked for billions in budget cuts, Gov. Bruce Rauner also asked for a $300 million increase to K12 school funding next year, which would be a 6.7 percent boost in general state aid.

Minnesota has the worst or second-worst graduation rates among reporting states in all four non-white student categories for the 2012-13 school year. Fewer than 60 percent of the state's black and Hispanic students graduate in four years.

The House Education Committee voted to block the state Board of Education from implementing the standards developed in part by the National Governors Association. HB 2190 also makes it illegal for the board to adopt standards for college and career readiness that are similar to standards or assessments used by 20 or more other states.

The Nassau County School Board has decided that the Yulee High student who has ended his morning public announcement readings with "God Bless America" can continue. The decision follows a cease-and-desist letter sent by the American Humanist Association that threatened action if the student continued uttering the phrase.